The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of August 26, 2019
“Greenland Tweet”: Creating Newsbreaks, Attracting Investments?
On August 19, U.S. President Donald Trump published a controversial tweet following his announcement about buying Greenland on one of the public TV channels. It immediately drew a worldwide attention to the remote autonomous island and sparked a new interest in Greenland’s economy and history. For almost two weeks now, international newspapers have been following up on Trump’s offer immersing in heated-up discussions about the potential purchase of Greenland by the U.S. (HNN, Reuters, The Guardian, WSJ).
Take 1: As highlighted by many experts, this is not the first time U.S. mentions a possibility of acquiring Greenland in a form of a “real-estate deal”. Thus, the news itself should not come as a shock. There is, however, a disturbing undertone in this case: unlike many other politicians who see Trump’s announcement absurd and the respective discussion bloated, U.S. President himself seems to mean it. Yet, this unexpected newsbreak might serve as a perfect occasion to remind of Greenland’s economic potential and attract business investments.
For more analysis, see Andreas Raspotnik’s insightful commentary on our webpage.
Northern Sea Route: To Ship or Not To Ship?
On August 23, one of world’s largest shipping companies CMA CGM S.A. announced that it would not use the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for shipping due to projected environmental consequences. According to High North News, it is so far the first case for the Northern Sea Route when a leading maritime transport stakeholder renounces its engagement (CMA CGM, HNN).
Take 2: In the past few years, Northern Sea Route has become a competing ground for major international shipping companies seeking to get economic revenues from the melting Arctic. In contrast to CMA CGM, Maersk and COSCO are actively expanding their operations in the Arctic. And so are doing their Russian counterparts, who recently launched nuclear-powered fish shipping operations along the NSR (IBS).
New Islands in the Russian Arctic
On August 27, Russia’s Northern Fleet’s hydrographers confirmed the discovery of five new islands. They are located in the archipelagos of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef land and range between 900 and 54,500 square meters. The discoveries were made during the Northern Fleet’s latest expedition set up together with the Russian Geographical Society and launched on August 15, which followed the routes of Julius von Payer’s expedition of 1874, Frederick Jackson’s expedition of 1897, and others (Tass, International Barents Observer).
Take 3: The five islands are the latest in the range of major discoveries made between 2015 and 2018, when more than 30 new islands, capes and bays found their place on the world map. Keeping in mind the alarmingly rapid sea ice melting rates in the Arctic, more unexpected discoveries are yet to come.
Creating A Marine Protected Area: Step 1
On August 26, Ottawa Government took the first step towards creating a marine protected area in Nunavut, as reported by Nunatsiaq News. More than 93,000 square kilometers are marked as an “area of interest” and include “migration routes for marine mammals such as narwhals, belugas and bowheads, and is adjacent to walrus haul-out sites, polar bear habitat and seabird colonies” (Nunatsiaq News).
Take 4: Earlier this month, TAI highlighted Justin Trudeau’s visit to Nunavut and the signing of Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement, crucial for the future development of Canada’s northernmost territories. Despite being adopted prior to the upcoming elections, it marked a significant change in Canada’s course in its indigenous policies.
Old Shipwreck, New Findings
This week marked another groundbreaking discovery, this time underwater: on Wednesday, August 28, Parks Canada and Inuit researchers announced the outcomes of the study of the HMS Terror, one of the ships of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition 1845. The remains of the ship were found in astonishingly well-preserved condition, including logs and maps, which might shed a light on what happened back in the nineteenth century (National Geographic, The Guardian).
Take 5: One of the most fascinating parts of the discovery, perhaps, is the publication of hundreds of underwater images by researchers showing the ship parts in color, as well as a guided video tour inside HMS Terror available of the official YouTube channel of Parks Canada.